Problems Faced by Online Gemstone Traders of NamakMandi market at Pakistani Airports

Abstract

Purpose: This paper analyses the views and experiences of gemstone traders at the NamakMandi (NM) gemstone market. Methodology: The paper draws on the data from a stakeholder’s workshop held at Bacha Khan University Charsadda (Pakistan) and ten (10) semi-structured interviews primarily with traders, which were conducted as part of a larger research project for identifying factors inhibiting the beneficiation of gemstones in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan. Findings: The paper demonstrates that while the advent of the internet has ushered in quite a new era in the gemstone trade, particularly triggering higher interest among youth to initiate online gemstone businesses, but they are improvising and experimenting in an environment that is completely devoid of any official regulatory environment or support. In the face of the absence of relevant laws and regulations, the employees of the customs department at the airport resort to extortions and bribes both during the exportation and importation of gemstones in Pakistan. Implications: Unless an appropriate regulatory and supportive environment is created, online gemstone businesses may have a very sluggish growth, thus, taping its potential to create income-earning opportunities and revenue for the government.